Rusty's Rundown: The Streak

I'm going to be perfectly honest with you guys today: The losing streak is in my head, man. I'd be lying to you if I said it doesn't agitate me.

It agitates me a lot when I see guys out there winning races when, in my heart, I feel like we have a better car. It happens, but everyone that's won this year is prepared and done the right things to win.

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I've screwed up a lot. I had a helluva hot rod at Daytona and decided to pit. Then the caution came out and it rained us out. We should have finished seventh. If I'd just stayed out...man.

I was trying to win a lot of beer for a lot of people, and you never know what's going to happen. I started 38th and moved to seventh when it ended, so you know that car was fast. Who knows what would have happened. Then I went to Rockingham and led 200 laps and it got loose on me.

The most agitating was Atlanta. I was running third and the car was just flying, and I drove it into Turn 1 too hard trying to pass Tony Stewart. I got her too high up on the track and banged the wall, and that killed an easy top-three finish, there. At Darlington, we're going along and the car's hauling ass and we pit, and as soon as we come back out the caution flies.

Dumb stuff like that has plagued me. I've never been this far back in points in my life, but we're only 50 points outside the top-eight or nine. That's why this weekend is a great chance to make up some points and get a win.

That's why I've pinpointed this weekend as a key opportunity to get that victory finally knocked out, because this is getting ridiculous. We're a lot better team than to have to go through a streak this long without a victory.

There's a lot of good teams out there -- don't get me wrong -- but we've got the resources and the talent and the people to get the job done. And I really feel like if we don't screw up, we can end it this weekend.

	Rusty has nine career wins at Bristol. Credit: Autostock.

We had a really good qualifying run, and it's a brand new car. We really wanted to test here, really bad, but couldn't because of all the construction on the back straightaway. I'll probably come back and test for the night race here, because this place is a great place for me.

I was talking to Tony Stewart this morning and we were discussing how nice it is to come to a racetrack and not have to worry about aero push and hard tires and all this mess we have to deal with all the time. The tires are still too hard, but at least you can still race here. You can still go real fast.

As you're flying around the track, there's no time to think. Your spotter has to talk real fast and real deliberate. The track's real bumpy, so you've got to work really hard on springs and shocks to get it just right.

I remember coming here back in 1981 or '82, and breaking the world record in an ASA car. Back then, the record was like a 15.50, and I had like a 15.30 in an ASA car. I'll never forget running wide open around this place. I couldn't believe that. Wide open on a short track? Yep, at Bristol, anyway.

My love for Bristol started right there. Then I got my first win here. Then I got my 50th win here. The place likes me and I love the place. You go to Daytona and you're just one of the guys. It's all how you draft.

Go to the Michigans, the Atlantas and the Charlottes -- it's all aero. Here, it's really mechanical and how you drive the car. And as much as I know about it and with the races I've won and how much I love it, I feel like I can get more out of a car than most guys. We all love this place, especially the fans.

There's 160,000 people up there all freaking out. This is the most loved track in the world, so it's such a cool feeling to come here. The drama is so intense -- it's amazing.

I pulled car out on the track for qualifying and I could hear the roar of the crowd, and the place isn't even full. Obviously, that means you're doing something right. That's an amazing feeling.

I hope Sunday brings an amazing feeling -- the feeling of Victory Lane. I'm pretty tired of this 'streak' mess. It's time to end this thing once and for all.

Rusty's Rundown appears weekly on NASCAR.com. For more info on Rusty Wallace, please visit his web site at www.rustywallace.com.